Police investigating the disappearance of Nicola Bulley are "losing trust" after a series of "crucial mistakes", a top murder detective has claimed.

Former Met Police detective chief inspector Simon Harding has said that officers are "losing the trust" of the public and Nicola's family in their search for the mum-of-two.

Ex-cop Harding claimed it was "crystal clear" where the failings in the search for the mortgage advisor were, and that police should have acted faster in sealing off the area of her disappearance.

READ MORE: Top cop says Nicola Bulley could have been abducted in '10-second window'

As well as that, the former detective claimed that those closest to the investigation "do not believe the hypothesis put to them" and that "confidence" is "very low".

High profile chief inspector Harding wrote: "It is now crystal clear that those closest to the investigation — her family and close friends — simply do not believe the hypothesis put to them.

"The trust and confidence of the family and the general public in this investigation is now very low."

His comments, from his feature in The Sunday Times, also claimed that Lancashire police should have questioned the "out of character" disappearance.

He added that they also should have stopped "people descending on it as a tasteless tourist spot and trampling the area — losing any potential evidence" by sealing it off.

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The detective continued: "I would have hoped it would be clear from the outset that this missing person should be graded as being at the highest possible risk."

Mr Harding also criticised the Lancashire police investigations for releasing a main hypothesis to the public without being absolutely certain on it.

He added: "The police settled on a tragic accident and made their thinking public within days. But to say this to the family and media, you must be 100% certain."

His comments come as Daily Star reported that a witness had come forward to police and claimed there were two "suspicious" men in the area the day before the mum-of-two's disappearance.

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